/6^t) 


OPINIONS  OF  PASTORS 

CONCERNING 

MISSION  STUDY 


A  COMPILATION  OF 
THE  TESTIMONY  OF 
PASTORS  WHO 
HAVE  HAD  AN 
OPPORTUNITY  TO 
KNOW  THE  RE¬ 
SULTS  OF  MISSION 
STUDY  AMONG 
YOUNG  PEOPLE 


YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  MISSIONARY 
MOVEMENT 

156  FIFTH  AYE.,  NEW  YORK  CITY 


i _ — -----  •:<,?£* 


Opinions  of  Pastors 

CONCERNING 

MISSION  STUDY 


The  Pastor  and  Mission  Study 

Much  has  recently  been  said  about 
the  pastor  s  relation  to  missions,  and 
the  consensus  of  opinion  seems  to  be 
that  ‘The  real  problem  of  foreign  mis¬ 
sions  is  in  the  home  church,  and  with¬ 
out  the  pastor  it  cannot  he  solved. 
His  position  gives  him  authority  and 
his  character  and  work  give  him  vast 
influence.’  Is  it  not  also  true  that  the 
pastor  can  solve  the  problem  more 
easily  and  more  speedily  with  the  help 
of  the  young  people?  With  their 
hearty  co-operation  his  work  is  much 
simplified. 

Possibilities  of  Young  People 

Not  only  are  the  young  people  to 
constitute  the  church  of  to-morrow,  hut 
they  have  great  ability  to  serve  the 
church  while  still  young.  Although 
they  have  not  come  into  the  full  pos¬ 
session  of  their  inheritance,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  youth  of  the 
church  have  great  influence.  The  ques¬ 
tion  of  what  the  church  should  do  for 
the  young  people  is  rapidly  giving  place 


to  the  consideration  of  what  the  young 
people  may  do  for  the  church.  Even 
in  a  financial  way,  because  of  their 
numbers,  their  resources  are  very  great. 
The  Sunday  Schools  of  one  denomi¬ 
nation  gave  last  year  to  Missions, 
$484,322,  or  more  than  one-third  as 
much  as  wras  given  by  the  Church 
itself.  If  the  present  willingness  to 
give  is  fostered  by  a  sustained  cam¬ 
paign  of  education,  the  church  of  to¬ 
morrow  will  be  indeed  a  conquering 
missionary  church. 

In  the  interest  of  this  educational 
movement,  the  well-known  Forward 
Mission  Study  Courses  for  young 
people  are  offered.  One  of  the  most 
remarkable  movements  of  the  day  is 
now  taking  place  in  connection  with 
this  Mission  Study  Work.  In  practi¬ 
cally  every  large  denomination  and  in 
many  of  the  small  ones,  the  work  is 
growing  very  rapidly.  The  enrollment 
this  year  throughout  the  United  States 
was  more  than  double  that  of  last 
year,  thousands  of  young  people  being 
enrolled  for  the  systematic  study  of 
missions.  When  this  movement  shall 
have  enlisted  the  entire  young  mem¬ 
bership  of  the  Church,  or  even  a 
majority  of  it,  a  great  step  will  have 
then  been  taken  toward  the  evangeli¬ 
zation  of  the  world. 


The  Pastor's  Relation  to  the 
Mission  Study  Class 


The  question  is  often  asked  whether 
or  not  the  pastor  himself  should  lead 
the  study  class.  As  a  rule,  pastors 
are  already  overburdened  with  the 
numerous  duties  of  pastoral  life,  and 
they  find  it  more  desirable  to  encour¬ 
age  leadership  on  the  part  of  others. 
In  almost  every  church  there  will  be 
found  a  school  teacher,  lawyer  or  some 
other  person  with  sufficient  training 
who  would  be  able  to  lead  a  Mission 
Study  class,  by  using  the  special  helps 
which  are  provided  for  leaders.  In 
some  instances,  however,  where  such 
a  leader  is  not  to  be  found,  the  pastor 
has  thought  it  desirable  to  teach  the 
class,  in  order  that  leaders  might  be 
developed  for  the  next  season  s  work. 

The  following  are  a  few  of  the  many 
testimonials  which  have  been  received 
from  pastors  concerning  the  results  of 
mission  study  among  their  young 
people. 


An  Interesting  Theme 

Pastors  have  discovered  that  the 
young  people  find  the  subject  intensely 
interesting.  One  pastor  says  :  “  The 
members  have  been  enthusiastic  in 
their  class  work  and  have  been  edified 


5 


and  entertained  alike  in  their  informal 
meetings  at  the  homes.”  Another  says: 
“We  have  no  other  gathering  in  the 
Society  for  which  they  are  more  eager.  ’ 
Others  have  used  the  following  expres¬ 
sions  :  “Our  young  people  prefer  com¬ 
ing  together  for  the  study  than  at¬ 
tending  other  places  of  amusement. 
“Many  expressed  regret  that  we  had 
come  to  the  end  of  the  course.  “They 
have  extended  the  course,  not  being 
satisfied  with  eight  weeks.” 

Social  Benefits 

One  of  the  pastor  s  problems  is  to 
cultivate  a  pure,  healthy,  social  life 
amcng  his  young  people.  This  is  not 
one  of  the  primary  aims  of  the  Mission 
Study  class,  but  it  frequently  has  such 
results.  “  The  Mission  Study  class  has 
influenced  the  young  people  to  an  inter¬ 
change  of  ideas  and  hooks,  and  has 
developed  conversational  powers. 
"They  are  more  intimate,  more  sociable, 
and  more  at  ease  with  each  other,  the 
pastor  and  others  of  the  church.”  “It 
tends  to  establish  a  common  level  and 
to  break  up  caste.”  “The  young  people 
are  better  acquainted,  have  stronger 
sympathies,  and  clearer  methods  of 
expressing  thou  ght,  and  greater  self- 
confidenoe. 


Eagerness  to  Work 

A  knowledge  of  the  needs  of  man 
and  the  wonderful  power  of  the  Gospel 
to  meet  such  needs,  coupled  with  the 
stones  of  the  sacrifices  of  the  mission¬ 
aries,  almost  always  results  in  a  new 
conception  of  duty  and  privilege.  This 
has  come  to  the  notice  of  the  pastor. 
“  New  life  and  energy  is  manifested 
in  all  departments.”  “  Several  non¬ 
workers  were  drawn  in.  “  One  result 
coming  almost  directly  from  the  Mis¬ 
sion  Study  class  has  been  the  decisions 
reached  by  several  young  people  to  go 
into  direct  church  work.”  “  They  see 
their  responsibility  towards  the  unen¬ 
lightened  and  seek  to  measure  up  to 
what  is  desired  and  expected  of  them 
in  the  way  of  prayer  and  giving. 

”  It  has  helped  to  keep  the  weaker  ones 
interested  in  the  Church  and  Young 
People’s  Society.”  “  It  has  helped  to 
get  them  outside  themselves.  The  dan¬ 
ger  in  a  country  place  is  that  we  lose 
sight  of  the  mam  army  and  carry  on 
a  guerilla  warfare.” 

Missionary  Meetings 

The  Mission  Study  class  develops 
increased  efficiency  in  conducting  the 
missionary  meetings  of  the  Young 
People  s  Society,  and  thereby  extends 


its  benefits  to  tbe  entire  membership. 
The  members  of  tbe  classes  are  pre- 

f>ared  by  tbe  study  for  tbe  duty  of 
eadersbip.  “  Many  have  caught  tbe 
inspiration  of  missionary  interest  from 
tbe  members  of  tbe  class.”  “Ihe 
monthly  public  meetings  in  tbe  Young 
People  s  Society,  under  tbe  direction 
of  tbe  Mission  Study  class,  have  in¬ 
formed  those  who  before  knew  but 
little  about  missions.  Almost  tbe 
whole  secret  is  in  making  people  see 
tbe  work  of  missions  as  it  is.”  ‘  There 
is  a  renewed  interest  in  our  mission¬ 
ary  devotional  meetings.”  “The  young 
people  are  able  to  discuss  tbe  mission¬ 
ary  topics,  thereby  adding  greatly  to 
tbe  interest  of  those  meetings.” 

Intellectual  Results 

There  are  at  least  three  distinct  ways 
in  which  pastors  have  noted  an  intel¬ 
lectual  development  as  the  result  of 
Mission  Study  class  work.  First  of 
all,  an  increased  knowledge  of  mis¬ 
sions  has  resulted.  Involving  as  the 
missionary  enterprise  does,  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  geography,  history,  litera¬ 
ture,  language,  institutions  and  gov¬ 
ernments,  its  educational  significance 
is  in  no  sense  small.  ‘‘The  young 
people  are  helped  intellectually  by  get- 


8 


ting  a  glimpse  of  the  real  greatness  of 
the  work  that  is  being  done.  “  Those 
wh.o  have  studied  the  different  courses 
are  more  capable  of  discussing  mis¬ 
sionary  subjects.  “A  knowledge  of 
geography,  history,  the  character,  needs 
and  possibilities  of  people  ”  has  been 
gained. 

The  Mission  Study  class  in  many 
cases  has  inspired  the  members  with  a 
desire  for  better  reading.  There  is 
manifest  '*  a  greatly  increased  desire 
for  general  reading  of  a  high  char¬ 
acter.”  “  Some  whose  reading  was 
confined  to  newspapers  and  magazines 
were  given  a  taste  for  good  books.” 

The  young  people  are  often  too 
much  engrossed  in  every  day  affairs 
to  understand  the  wonderful  age  in 
which  they  are  living  and  the  signifi¬ 
cance  of  world  movements.  Several 
pastors  have  spoken  specifically  of 
this  point,  “  There  has  been  awakened 
a  new  perception  of  the  significance  of 
the  world  movements.  “They  made 
a  keener  study  of  the  question  in  the 
Far  East.  “  They  have  broader 
visions  of  the  problems  affecting  the 
welfare  of  the  nations.’  “  The  class 
received  an  intelligent  understanding 
ol  Japan  as  a  factor  in  future  world 
politics  and  the  strategic  importance  of 
giving  her  the  Gospel  at  once.  “The 


9 


members  of  the  class  have  a  better 
knowledge  of  tbe  work  of  tbe  Kingdom 
of  God,  its  power,  its  present  activity 
and  adaptability  to  all  peoples  and 
conditions  and  its  absolute  necessity 
in  tbe  development  of  tbe  world. 

Increased  Giving 

Tbe  theory  that  increased  knowl¬ 
edge  would  inevitably  result  in  larger 
and  more  regular  giving  is  tbe  founda¬ 
tion  principle  of  tbe  Mission  Study 
movement  and  has  been  proven  well 
founded.  Tbe  testimony  of  one  pas¬ 
tor  may  be  quoted  at  some  length, 
although  it  deals  with  other  means  of 
missionary  education  in  addition  to 
the  Mission  Study  class.  “  While 
we  have  not  been  organized  in  Mission 
Study  prior  to  this  year,  much  study 
has  been  given  to  missions  by  both 
pastor  and  people  for  three  years 
back.  Missionary  Campaign  Libra¬ 
ries  and  many  single  books  and  tracts 
have  been  read,  commented  on  and 
distributed  throughout  the  church. 
Consequently  our  benevolences  have 
increased  steadily  for  the  past  three 
years.  At  the  beginning  of  my  pas¬ 
torate  the  benevolent  report  for  all 
causes  was  $150  for  the  year.  The 
report  for  succeeding  years  has  been 


!  O 


as  follows :  $525,  $802  and  $1,104. 

The  giving  to  missions  increased  as 

follows:  $80,  $207,  $307,  $420. 

The  first  year  there  was  no  Woman  s 
Missionary  Society.  Last  year  this- 
Society  reported  $280.  I  could  give 
individual  instances  of  a  few  who 
have  been  so  changed  that  gifts  for 
missions  of  $1  have  been  increased  to 
$20  and  $40  per  year  through  the 
study  of  missions  and  Christian 
Stewardship.  The  spiritual  life  and 
activity  of  the  Church  has  kept  pace 
with  the  collections  and  I  believe 
have  been  greatly  helped  by  them.’ 
“The  information  they  have  received 
made  it  far  easier  to  raise  our  appor¬ 
tionment  in  full.  In  the  hardest  finan¬ 
cial  year  in  twenty,  when  I  expected 
a  shrinkage  in  benevolences,  we  have 
reached  high-water  mark  ($300)  an 
increase  of  $75  over  last  year,  the 
average  being  $2  per  member.  Benev¬ 
olences  were  all  raised  two  months 
before  the  close  of  the  year.  It  was 
the  easiest  year  ever  experienced.  I 
credit  it  to  the  Mission  Study  class. 

Other  pastors  have  reported  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  “  A  decided  increase.  Several 
have  increased  their  gilts  many  times 
over  to  missions.  One  now  supports 
special  work  in  India.  “  Members 
of  the  Mission  Study  class  have  given 


n 


more  freelv,  cheerfully  and  liberally.” 

4  A  very  large  increase.  Some  mem¬ 
bers  of  tbe  class  wbo  did  not  give  to 
missions  last  year  gave  $5  this  year. 
Others  wbo  bad  given  one  or  two 
dollars  previously  gave  tbis  year  $10, 
$15  and  $20.  Tbe  Young  People’s 
Society  gave  $300.” 

Tbe  influence  of  tbe  study  is  not 
confined  to  tbe  members  of  tbe  class 
but  reaches  out  into  other  departments 
of  tbe  church  as  tbe  following  state¬ 
ments  clearly  show.  “Of  three  hundred 
contributors  to  tbe  general  missionary 
collection,  all  but  six  increased  their 
contributions,  notwithstanding  tbe  in¬ 
creased  financial  obligations  of  a  new 
building  project.  “  Before  tbe  Mis¬ 
sion  Study  class  was  started  last  year 
our  church  gave  only  $80  for  missions, 
and  that  in  face  of  opposition.  Last 
year  tbe  church  gave  $120.  Tbis 
year  we  shall  reach  $1  per  member.” 
“Missionary  enthusiasm  was  carried 
into  tbe  church.  The  young  people 
are  supporting  work  in  India  and  they 
pay  part  of  the  support  of  a  missionary 
in  South  America.  One  family  gave 
last  year  $25  for  missions.  This  was 
the  largest  individual  subscription  ever 
given  here  and  was  given  by  the 
people  in  whose  house  the  Mission 
Study  class  is  held.” 


Spiritual  Blessings 

There  are  several  phases  of  the 
spiritual  results  of  Mission  Study, 
which  pastors  have  thought  worthy  of 
notice.  First  may  be  mentioned  an 
increased  desire  for  the  salvation  of 
souls.  11  The  class  has  an  increased 
longing  for  the  conversion  of  those 
here  at  home,  as  well  as  for  the  con¬ 
version  of  those  abroad.’  “  Greater 
interest  is  manifest  in  all  spiritual  work 
of  the  church.”  “Many  of  the  class 
are  giving  time  to  our  Mission  Church.’ 
“  They  are  more  concerned  for  the  sal¬ 
vation  of  others. 

An  increased  volume  of  prayer  for 
missions,  which  is  so  greatly  needed, 
has  undoubtedly  resulted  from  the 
Mission  Study  movement.  Pastors 
have  reported  many  instances.  “Fne 
members  of  the  class  are  praying 
for  missions.  “  Their  views  have 
been  broadened  and  their  prayers  have 
been  greatly  increased.”  “  ihe  name 
of  some  worker  is  presented  and  his 
or  her  work  discussed  and  especially 
prayed  for.  “There  is  an  increased 
interest  in  the  prayer  meeting.  “More 
are  ready  to  testify  and  to  pray  than 
before. 

Concerning  the  general  spiritual  re¬ 
sults  the  pastors  have  said:  “They 
are  beginning  to  sympathize  with  mis- 


13 


sionary  work  and  to  see  the  need  of 
consecration  and  sacrifice.  “  Tfiey 
have  been  given  a  deeper  faith  in  the 

fiower  of  Christ  to  save,  a  large  out- 
ook  on  the  work  and  purpose  of  the 
Kingdom,  have  seen,  as  never  before, 
the  binding  obligation  of  the  last  com¬ 
mand  of  Jesus,  to  go  into  all  the  world 
and  make  disciples  of  all  nations,  and 
especially  their  personal  obligation  in 
the  matter.”  “Perhaps  spiritually,  more 
than  in  anji-  other  way,  has  there  been 
growth.  There  is  a  more  vital  con¬ 
nection  between  personal  religious  life 
and  the  salvation  of  the  world.” 
“  Some  for  the  first  time  have  come  to 
regard  missions,  not  as  a  separate 
department  of  church  service,  hut  as 
an  integral  part  of  the  church’s  spirit¬ 
ual  work.  ’  “  All  have  been  helped,  and 
several  in  a  very  marked  degree.  One, 
I  think,  was  greatly  aided  to  a  definite 
espousal  of  the  cause  of  Christ.”  “The 
young  people  have  a  deeper  interest  in 
all  religious  work  of  the  church.  This 
is  particularly  true  of  the  leader,  a 
University  man,  grown  somewhat  cold, 
who  has  been  thoroughly  awakened  in 
his  religious  life  work. 

The  Pastor’s  Opportunity 

This  testimony  is  conclusive.  It 
shows  that  the  mission  study  move- 


14 


ment  is  destined  to  have  a  large  place 
in  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom,  that  it 
is  sound  in  principle  and  fruitful  in 
result^.  The  pastors  who  have  studied 
the  movement  endorse  it  most  heartily, 
and  will  continue  to  foster  it  in  their 
churches.  The  benefits  which  they 
have  mentioned  as  resulting  from  Mis¬ 
sion  Study  are  widely  needed  through¬ 
out  the  church. 

What  has  been  done  the  past  year 
among  thousands  of  young  people  can 
be  accomplished  this  year  among  tens 
of  thousands.  The  testimony  given 
above  is  sufficient  to  warrant  every 
pastor,  who  has  not  had  a  personal 
knowledge  of  the  benefits  of  mission 
study,  to  give  the  young  people  his 
active  support  and  sympathy.  This 
does  not  necessarily  mean  that  he  will 
become  the  leader  of  the  class,  but  it 
does  mean  that  he  must  emphasize  the 
value  of  the  study  and  urge  them  to 
undertake  it.  The  work  is  new,  and 
the  young  people  will  need  his  advice, 
sympathy  and  prayers.  This  move¬ 
ment  offers  the  pastor  a  large  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  direct  the  unused  energies, 
and  to  influence  the  spiritual  life  of 
the  young  people  and  to  give  them  a 
world  vision. 


Correspondence 

All  correspondence  concerning  Mis¬ 
sion  Study  should  he  directed  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Missionary  Society 
or  Board. 


